U.S. stock futures rise, gold and silver hit records as investors hold out hope for a Christmas rally

By Mike Murphy

Gold and silver futures high record highs

The stock market will shut early Wednesday, for Christmas Eve, and will be closed Thursday for Christmas.

U.S. stock futures gained Sunday, ahead of the holiday-shortened trading week and as investors cling to hopes of a "Santa Claus rally" still to come.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00) were up about 50 points, or 0.1%, late Sunday. S&P 500 futures (ES00) gained 0.3% while Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00) rose 0.5%.

Gold futures (GC00) advanced to an all-time high, peaking at $4,421, while silver futures (SI00) rallied more than 2% to a record peak of $69.27 amid high hopes for further Fed rate cuts. Both precious metals have had breakout years, with gold up 67% year to date and silver soaring 135% in 2025.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was little changed, briefly topping the $89,000 level. West Texas crude futures (CL.1) rose nearly 1% as the U.S. said it seized another Venezuela-linked oil tanker, and was pursuing another. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of rival currencies, ticked higher.

A rally by tech stocks helped the three major indexes finish higher Friday. The S&P 500's information technology sector rallied 2% on Friday, its best performance since Nov. 24, according to FactSet data. For the week, the S&P 500 SPX inched 0.1% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq COMP rose 0.5% and the Dow DJIA declined 0.7%, snapping a three-week winning streak.

The "Santa Claus rally" refers to a seasonal pattern in which stocks have historically tended to rise during the last five trading days of December and the first two trading days of January, providing momentum - or not - into the new year.

Read more: Don't give up on a 'Santa Claus rally' just yet - even after a rough December start for stocks

While the S&P 500 is in negative territory so far in December, hopes for a late rally have not yet been dashed, and may have been bolstered by Friday's gains.

"If traders were wondering whether the fabled Santa Claus rally would ever show up, this may have been its arrival," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a weekend note. "The market doesn't feel euphoric, but it no longer feels cornered. Inflation is behaving, growth is cooling, liquidity is still ample, and positioning has been reset by one of the heaviest option expiries on record. That combination doesn't guarantee smooth sailing, but it does explain why, even at the end of a long year, the market found just enough oxygen to sprint the final lap."

The U.S. stock market will have an abbreviated trading session Wednesday for Christmas Eve, and will be closed Thursday for Christmas.

-Mike Murphy

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